Beaten Flower
by ladia2287
Summary: Severus hates seeing Lily upset or distressed. So when he discovers the marks on her arms and realises how they got there, he is determined to do something about it, despite being warned to tread carefully...


"Are you happy?"

"Severus, please..."

"Are you happy?"

Lily looked pleadingly at the man standing before her. Severus Snape, whom she'd always regarded as someone more akin to a brother than a friend, despite his frequent tactlessness, was asking her if she was _happy_. '_No, I'm bloody miserable,_' she thought, but of course, she would never admit it out loud.

"I cannot speak ill of my own husband, Severus," she said miserably. Severus spun away from her. He ran a hand through his wind-blown hair, frustrated by her refusal to respond.

"Christ, Lily, why can't you just answer the bloody question? _Are you happy_?" he demanded, turning back to face her as he said it. "All it takes is a simple yes or no!"

Lily stared at him, a little scared of how he might react if she told him the truth. '_Does he know_?' she wondered silently. '_He must do. He grew up watching the same thing happen to his own mother all the time._'

"James is..." she began, but Severus cut her off.

"Lily, for goodness sake, this isn't about James! It isn't even about me! It's about _you_, Lily! Please, just give me a straight answer!"

Lily was close to tears. She finally removed her jacket, exposing her bare arms. Arms, Severus was horrified to realise, that were covered in dark bruises. He took a few seconds to allow the truth to sink in. James Potter, for all his talk about how much he cared for Lily and would never hurt her, was still the same arrogant, abusive jerk he'd been in school.

"I'll kill him," he growled furiously. Lily's eyes widened in fear.

"Severus, please, don't do anything! It was my fault! I let dinner get too cold. Please, _please_, don't do anything!" she begged. Severus could not believe his own ears.

"I don't believe this! You're actually defending a man who has clearly beaten you! So you served up a cold dinner this time! What'll it be next time? Maybe you'll miss a spot when you're washing his clothes? Or perhaps he'll come home, and there won't be enough butterbeer in the fridge! Believe me, it'll only get worse, Lily!"

Lily bit her lip and looked away. She didn't want to hear the awful truths he was shouting at her.

"What happens if you fall pregnant, Lily? What will stop him from taking his anger out on the child, too?" he demanded harshly. The tears that had been threatening to fall down Lily's cheeks now appeared.

"Don't," she croaked. "Don't say that."

Severus' eyes widened in horror at her reaction. He realised immediately what it meant.

"You _are_ pregnant, Lily, aren't you?" he asked gingerly. Lily closed her eyes and nodded. "Does he know?" Severus asked. Lily gave him a fearful look.

"Severus..."

"Does he know?" Severus repeated. His tone was harsh and unapologetic.

"I..."

"Answer me, Lily," Severus interrupted. "Does James know that you're pregnant?"

Lily looked nervously at the floor. Finally, she answered his question.

"Yes, Severus, he knows," she barely even whispered.

Severus' face contorted in fury. He spun around and stormed off, leaving Lily standing there, crying.

"That obnoxious bastard! I swear I'll kill him for this!" he muttered.

* * *

"Snivellus? What are you doing here?" Sirius demanded. Severus shot him a furious look.

"How long has that bastard been beating the crap out of Lily, Black?" he asked with an angry sneer. "More to the point, how much longer were you and your pathetic excuses for friends going to let it go on?" Sirius' face fell.

"You, er, know about that, do you?" he asked nervously. Severus was reaching the end of his patience.

"Yes, Black, I know! And believe me, I'm going to do something about it, unlike you snivelling cowards!" he declared. Sirius was clearly alarmed.

"Look, Snape, I know you're not going to like this, but you have to think of Lily," he explained anxiously. "Anything you do to piss James off will only come down on her head. Oh, he'll make out like it's no big deal, put on a big show, the usual crap, but then he'll go home, and take it out on her."

"So you're saying I should just stand by and _let_ him beat her to death?" Severus demanded angrily.

"I'm _saying_ that you'll only make it worse for Lily if you try to intervene," Sirius answered impatiently. Severus wasn't about to give up, however.

"I'll just have to make sure Lily's out of harm's way first, then," he said calmly. Sirius frowned. He opened his mouth to protest, but Severus had already Disapparated.

* * *

"Lily," Severus whispered urgently. It was fortunate that James was in London on business. It made this so much easier. "Lily, wake up."

Lily's eyes slowly fluttered open. It took her a few seconds to realise who it was standing over her.

"Severus, what on Earth are you doing here?" she hissed. Severus promptly held his hand over her mouth. James might not be home, but Severus still wasn't taking any chances.

"Shh. Get up and get dressed, quickly. You need to be out of here before daybreak," he instructed quietly. Lily raised her eyebrows when she realised what Severus wanted her to do.

"I can't leave," she said. Severus was surprised by her answer.

"What?" he asked, clearly hoping he hadn't heard her correctly.

"I... I can't leave, Severus," Lily explained sadly. "James will be angry."

Severus gave her a meaningful look. "Well, that's too bad, because he's never going to see you again," he replied defiantly.

"Oh, aren't I?" a cold voice murmured behind him. Severus spun around and glared angrily at the man who had spoken. "Funny, that," he added. A sadistic smile spread slowly across his face as he stalked over to his wife, clutching her just a little too tightly to be natural. It was not a loving gesture. It was possessive and, for Lily, downright terrifying.

"James! I... Sirius told me... why are you home a day early?" she stuttered.

"Because my business in London wrapped up earlier than I expected. And it's a good thing I am home early, if you are going to start plotting to run off the moment I leave," James answered coldly. Lily closed her eyes, bracing herself for the blow she felt sure would land on her face at any second. Instead, she heard a loud SMACK, and felt James let go of her. She opened her eyes again, and saw that James was lying on the ground. His jaw was swollen slightly, his lower lip bleeding. And Severus stood right next to her, glaring down at him, hands balled into fists. It took Lily a few seconds to realise what had happened.

"You hit him!" she exclaimed, staring fearfully at Severus.

"He was about to hit you," Severus replied roughly.

"I... Thank you, Sev..."

"Thank me later," Severus said quietly, interrupting her. "Just get some clothes; I'm sure we can _persuade_ Black or even Lupin to come for the rest of your things. Make it quick; I don't want you here when he wakes up."

Lily nodded and hastened to obey. At last, she would be able to escape. Once again, she was heartily grateful that she could count Severus Snape as a friend. She sincerely hoped that nothing would ever tear them apart.

* * *

"You sure you're alright?" Severus asked, noticing that Lily had been very quiet. Lily smiled at him.

"Just wondering how I could possibly repay you for helping me get away from that monster," she said with a slightly cheeky tone in her voice. Severus smirked.

"Well, there is something I've been wanting to try for a while," he admitted...

* * *

**Well, I'll let it go there, and leave the rest to your imagination. So tell me, did you love this story or what? (Sorry, I'm in a cocky mood today). Seriously, though, I love to hear what you guys think. Even if you hate it (I know I've pointed this out a couple of times in my other stories, but if you don't like it, I'm a big girl now, and I'm more than capable of dealing with it). Really, it won't hurt my feelings :)**


End file.
